I still see them when I walk into my mom’s workout room in my parent’s home. They sit in the corner quiet and unassuming, looking very plain. Blue plastic with concrete inside. Nothing special. You’d never know they transformed a young man’s life many years ago.
When this young man was 13 he was diagnosed with epilepsy, a disease of the brain which causes seizures and many other negative effects. He couldn’t understand what was happening to him. He was always athletic and one could say popular at school, with a large friend group while being decently smart with consistently good grades. That all went away seemingly overnight. Up to 15 times per day a short seizure would hit, which made him stare blankly into the distance for around 60 seconds or so. His personality completely changed, losing any people skills he once had, and even his athletic ability seemed to take a turn for the worse. In a short amount of time in that grade 8 year he found himself with no friends, failing every grade in school (including Bible class, which was previously thought to be impossible) and at a rock bottom unlike anything he’d ever experienced. He needed a friend more than anything and he found one in the most unlikely of places.
Nearly every morning he saw his mom doing her aerobics and, one day, alone and by himself as usual, he decided to pick up the light dumbbells that she always used. They felt good in his hands and he soon found himself doing basic exercises we all know like curls, triceps extensions (funny for a young man to go straight to arm exercises I know) overhead presses, lateral raises, squats, and so on. He found that for that 45 minutes or so, moving the weights as best as he knew how, he felt free. His troubles melted away. He felt his thinking clear. This time became his only respite from the difficulty each day brought. He found himself sitting in school, counting down the time, thinking what exercises he would do, and literally aching to get home and be with his friends. The only friends he had. A pair of 5lb and 10lb blue dumbbells.
He found he was getting stronger as time went on and continued to learn more and revise his routine to continually be challenged. He fell in love with the burn, the feeling of the blood pumping through his muscles, sweating, and finishing feeling like he gave his best. He worked out every single day, sometimes twice a day. It was his favourite time, there was nothing he would rather be doing. Having the time with the dumbbells to look forward to gave him what he needed to not give up on himself through all the challenges the days brought and all the
loneliness.
Fast forward 25 years and this man owns a training facility and spends his days coaching others in an effort for them to harness the transforming power of strength training in their own lives. This man is me of course, Matt Mantai, the founder of ARMOURY Fitness & Performance.
Those blue dumbbells are still in my parent’s home. My two young boys play with them now when we go over to visit. They lift them over their head and every which way and say something along the lines of, “look, I’m strong like you daddy!”. Little do they know that they aren’t holding mere plastic and concrete. They are holding life changing tools of happiness, they are holding tools that once transformed a young man’s life, they are holding pure magic.
I smile and inwardly hope that in time they discover this magic in their own way. Magic that is available to all of us. Applying the power of resistance to transform our bodies and minds. I am a different person today because I discovered those blue dumbbells. It has completely shaped my path, leading me to my passion in life. Having coached hundreds if not thousands of people to this point I have witnessed the secret to lifelong success with physical health. If I can help people see what I see, if I can help them realize that it is not cold, lifeless steel and iron that they are lifting, if I can just help them discover the magic, I know their lives will never be the same. They will be forever changed for the better. This is the mission of ARMOURY Fitness & Performance. We know Strength is the Way. The Obstacle is the Path. Magic is the Mission.
